Hanuman Fights for Sita

Place CreatedMalwa, India, Asia

CultureIndia, Malwa

Dateca. 1680s

MediumInk and watercolor on paper

Credit LineGift of Jayantilal K. and Geeta J. Patel and family to further the study of Hinduism

Dimensions7 3/4 × 11 1/8 in. (19.7 × 28.3 cm)

Object number2015.016.002

Label TextHaving penetrated the citadel of Lanka, Hanuman finds Sita imprisoned in a grove of Ashoka trees (upper left). Sita, diminutive and vulnerable in her translucent sari, her eyes cast downward in piety and terror, refuses to be rescued by Hanuman, as she will allow no man but her husband to touch her. Rama himself must wage war on the kingdom of Lanka to ensure her safe return. As Hanuman departs from his meeting with Sita, Ravana dispatches general after general to defeat the monkey. Hanuman crushes each in turn, leaving them maimed and bleeding in the grove, one shown having lost his arm. While other paintings portray demons as fierce animal-like creatures, here the demons appear as Rajput noblemen wearing turbans and regal clothes, signaling their high status in a wealthy kingdom and the potential for appearances to deceive.
Exhibition HistoryTell the Whole Story from Beginning to End: The Ramayana in Indian Painting, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 20 - May 20, 2018
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present

ProvenanceEx coll. Richard B. Gump (1906-1989), San Francisco, California. Thence by descent. With Sotheby's New York, December 12-20, 1991. Ex private collection, New York, New York. Purchased by MCCM from Christie's New York, March 18, 2015, lot 4054.

InscribedTranslated to "Hanuman visits Sita and subsequently wreaks havoc on Lanka"

MarkingsNumbered "52" on verso.

Status

On view

Collections